Helmet-Chan
Helmet-chan is an unnamed background character in the anime and the movie. She also appears in the spin-off manga Ribbon Warrior and Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu!. Profile Helmet-chan is a student from Saunders University High School. She is the loader for Alisa's M4A1(76) (in official Sensha-dō matches) and M22 Locust and the driver of the M1 Combat Car (in Tankathlon matches), as well as the driver for a Willys MB Jeep. It's suggested that she is Alisa's second in command. Appearance Helmet-chan is a pale-skinned girl of average height with medium length auburn hair, long thin eyebrows and dark green eyes. She has only been seen wearing the Saunders' Sensha-dō uniform with a US M1938 tanker's helmet which she wears even outside of Sensha-dō matches. One way to easily identify her (aside from her eponymous helmet) is through the two strands of hair coming down from the front of her helmet. As she is a member of the Flying Tankers Volunteer Group, she wore the jacket in the battle against Shizuka Tsuruki. During the Saunders Christmas Party, she replaced her helmet with a Christmas themed knit hat, and also wore an unbuttoned jacket with a shirt underneath. Personality Helmet-chan is a diligent and soft-spoken girl, doing her best to perform her duties, even in the worst of situations and with an overbearing commander looking over her shoulder. Her method of coping with stress appears to be sighing. She is almost always seen with Alisa, being an unwilling partner and bystander to her schemes. Acts as a tsukkomi when Alisa embarks on her more outrageous plans. As with the rest of the reinforcements that joined Ooarai in their fight against the All-Stars University Team, it can be implied that she supports Ooarai wholeheartedly, cheering for them when they win that particular match. She appears to act as Alisa's second in command, requisitioning tanks from schools that they had lent them to, on Alisa's behalf. Also appears to be the vice-commander of the Flying Tankers Volunteers Group. Background Anime During the match against Ooarai Girls Academy in the first round of the 63ʳᵈ National High School Sensha-dō Tournament Helmet-chan saw little action in the initial stages of the battle, as the Sherman (being the flag tank) was hiding in a forest away from danger. She occasionally reacted in shock to Alisa's hysterical laughter when the latter was intercepting Ooarai's radio messages. When the tank was discovered by the Duck Team, she performed her duties well, but was severely hindered by the fact that all the shells were stored in the body of the tank, as the radio system installed in the turret left no room for ammunition storage. This forced Helmet-chan to crawl on her hands and knees in order to pull the shell out from underneath the turret, while the tank was moving at a high speed and taking enemy fire. Thus, her loading speed was dramatically reduced, with the tank taking over 20 seconds to fire another round. When Alisa began ranting about the enemy having the gall to chase her, Helmet-chan responded to this by becoming more worried and sighing, as a sign of exasperation to Alisa's increasingly incomprehensible complaints, in stark contrast to the gunner simply telling Alisa that she wasn't helping at all. When the reinforcements from Saunders arrived, she can be seen cheering with Alisa and the gunner of the tank. However her tank was being pursued by all of Ooarai's tanks and was eliminated by Anglerfish Team shortly afterwards. She is not seen again for the rest of the anime. 'Der Film' Helmet-chan was present in the movie, as part of the detachment from Saunders sent to reinforce the Ooarai Compound team. She can be seen in the interior of the tank during the engagement between the Morning Glory Team and Azumi's Company. In a rather humorous bit, Helmet-chan and Alisa are seen being knocked around and thrown all over the turret when the enemy focused fire on their tank, posing an excellent argument for the usage of seat belts during the game. She is later seen at the end of the match, cheering as Ooarai is declared the victor over the All-Stars University Team. 'Ribbon Warrior' In the spin-off manga Ribbon Warrior, Helmet-chan is seen practicing at the Northern Fuji Sensha-dō Training Grounds, also known as the holy land of Sensha-dō with Alisa when they encountered Shizuka Tsuruki. After hearing Shizuka challenging the other crews training on the field, Alisa challenged her to a Tankathlon duel, much to Helmet-chan's shock. She was then ordered by Alisa to reacquire the M22 Locust tanks lent to the BC Freedom school and watched worriedly as Shizuka drove off in her tank, possibly expressing misgivings about the affair. During the match against Shizuka, Helmet-chan was seen at Alisa's side while the latter greeted Shizuka. After hearing Alisa present her tanks, she commented that getting them back from the lend-lease agreements had been a pain. She later expressed worry for Alisa after Kay mentioned that there would be a debriefing if the former lost the match. When Shizuka emerged from her tent with traditional Samurai armor, Helmet-chan was seen staring wordlessly at the spectacular sight before her. During the match, she can be seen reacting in shock at the flare that Shizuka had fired, and afterwards when two of the M22 Locusts were knocked out. When Shizuka's tank came charging at Alisa's Locust, Helmet-chan was seen cringing in fear. After the Te-Ke's suspension literally fell apart, and the tank was declared decommissioned, she was seen with a relieved expression after the match. She was later seen driving a Willys MB Jeep during the Centipede Team vs. BC Freedom match. When Alisa offered to give Haruka Endou, Anchovy and Pepperoni a ride, Helmet-chan seemed surprised that Alisa would be willing to give the friends of Centipede team help so readily. She then began driving the Willys jeep towards the battlegrounds, with the other four passengers. She was later seen conversing with Pepperoni while Anchovy and Alisa were busy scouting out the match. When Centipede Team won the match and the BC Freedom team started fighting amongst themselves, Helmet-chan was startled when Shizuka began scolding the BC Freedom Team for trying to pin the loss on Asparagus. The next time Helmet-chan was seen in the manga was observing the Pravda Girls High School's Katyusha Volunteer Army (KVA) vs. Bonple match with Alisa. After greeting Centipede team, she spectated the match and witnessed Bonple's victory over Pravda's KVA. In the Flying Tanker's battle against Centipede team, she acted as the driver of Alisa's M1 Combat Car. 'Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu!' Helmet-chan was present at the Saunders Christmas party. She was not wearing a costume like most of the girls, but switched out her helmet for a Christmas themed knit hat. She was part of "Operation Bloody Santa Claus", a plan formulated by Alisa and Naomi in order to scare Kay on camera. After helping Alisa down the chimney, she returned to the party and began sweating nervously when Kay noticed Alisa missing. After Alisa got herself unstuck from the chimney, she frightened Alisa alongside the rest of the party members by donning a hockey mask and carrying a rifle. Trivia *Helmet-chan is one of many (but currently the most popular) fan-names given to Alisa's loader. Other names include Met-chan, Helmet, Met, and even: Loader. Gallery M4 Sherman 76mm.jpg|Sherman M4A1 (76), Helmet-chan's tank Helmet Chan.gif|Good at her job. Saunders and St. Gloriana Victory.png|Helmet-Chan as seen on the far right. Alisa maniacal laugh.png|Reacting in shock to Alisa's maniacal laughter. Alisa's Tank Hit.jpg Saunders Christmas.png|Christmas at Saunders. Willys MB Jeep.png|At the wheel of a Willys MB Jeep. Alisa, Helmet-Chan and Kanon.png|The reluctant spectator to Alisa's schemes. Busted!.JPG helmet-chan.jpg|Her pretty orange hair! Saunders doing what Anzio does best.jpg Generals in Ribbon Warrior.jpg Category:Loaders Category:Mononymous Category:Characters Category:Anime Characters Category:Females Category:Saunders Girls' High School Category:Vice-Commanders Category:Flying Tankers' Volunteer Group Category:Ribbon Warrior Characters Category:Fan Name